What are the responsibilities and job description for the Associate Vice President for Financial Operations and Controller position at The University of Texas at Arlington?
Job Summary
The Associate Vice President for Financial Operations & Controller provides executive leadership for the university’s core financial, transactional, and compliance functions, with a strong mandate to modernize operations, lead enterprise change, and leverage technology to improve efficiency, accuracy, and service delivery.
Reporting directly to the Vice President/ CFO , this role oversees student financial services, accounting, financial reporting, payroll, grant accounting, and supply chain management. The AVP serves as the university’s chief steward of financial integrity while acting as a change leader responsible for transforming financial operations into a streamlined, data‑enabled, customer‑centric organization.
Minimum Qualifications
Executive Leadership & Change Management
The Associate Vice President for Financial Operations & Controller provides executive leadership for the university’s core financial, transactional, and compliance functions, with a strong mandate to modernize operations, lead enterprise change, and leverage technology to improve efficiency, accuracy, and service delivery.
Reporting directly to the Vice President/ CFO , this role oversees student financial services, accounting, financial reporting, payroll, grant accounting, and supply chain management. The AVP serves as the university’s chief steward of financial integrity while acting as a change leader responsible for transforming financial operations into a streamlined, data‑enabled, customer‑centric organization.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible leadership experience in financial operations, accounting, or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex organizations, large teams, and enterprise‑level change initiatives.
- Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.
- CPA or equivalent professional certification.
- Experience in a large, complex public university or research institution.
- Demonstrated success implementing financial system improvements, automation, or shared services models.
Executive Leadership & Change Management
- Serve as a senior leader on the CFO’s executive team, driving large‑scale operational change across financial services.
- Lead organizational transformation initiatives focused on process simplification, standardization, and service excellence.
- Actively manage change impacts across teams, ensuring clear communication, staff engagement, and leadership alignment.
- Build a culture that values continuous improvement, accountability, innovation, and professional development.
- Oversee end‑to‑end financial operations to ensure efficient, accurate, timely, and compliant execution.
- Identify and eliminate redundant, manual, or high‑risk processes; redesign workflows to improve cycle time and quality.
- Establish and monitor performance metrics and service‑level expectations for financial operations.
- Partner with academic and administrative units to improve customer experience while maintaining strong controls.
- Lead the adoption of financial systems optimization, automation, and digital workflows, including:
- Transactional automation
- Workflow and approval redesign
- Self‑service tools
- Data quality and system integration improvements
- Collaborate closely with IT leadership ( CIO , CAO , CISO ) to align financial operations with enterprise technology strategy.
- Champion innovative uses of technology to reduce risk, improve transparency, and increase scalability.
- Ensure compliance with GAAP , GASB , UT System policies, and state and federal regulations.
- Oversee preparation and accuracy of the university’s annual financial report and other required regulatory filings.
- Serve as executive liaison to external auditors and regulatory bodies.
- Maintain a strong internal control environment and proactively manage financial risk.
- Lead, mentor, and evaluate executive directors, directors, and managers across financial operations portfolio.
- Develop succession plans, modern skill sets, and leadership capacity within the financial operations organization.
- Promote cross‑training, collaboration, and shared accountability across functional departments.
- Create an engaging culture in a remote working environment.
- Lead development and modernization of financial policies and procedures.
- Advise the CFO and senior leadership on operational risks, compliance issues, and strategic improvements.
- Represent UTA in UT System, state, and national financial and business‑operations forums as appropriate.